12 Days of a Tsubasa Christmas, 2011
by Sunlight through Leaves
Summary: The 2011 installment of a series of oneshots based on Christmas themes.
1. 1st Day of Christmas

It's that time of year again! Enjoy the goofiness!

OOOOOOOOO

**1st Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Those Funny Things They Do in (Celes)_

Flickering light at the bottom of the door woke him. Kurogane sat up silently, one hand dropping to his ever-present sword. Nothing had attacked them yet in this world, but he was always prudent.

The door creaked slightly under his hand, and he moved swiftly to the edge of the hallway to avoid the well-worn and squeaky boards in the center before descending the stairs to the main room.

The room was empty save for Fai, curled in a chair by the fire with a book propped open in his lap and a steaming mug balanced in one hand.

Kurogane moved closer, picking up the unmistakable smell of hot alcohol wafting out from the mug. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Fai's head snapped up, and for a moment Kurogane saw focused intelligence behind those eyes, only to be quickly replaced.

"Kuro-tan! Did I wake you?" Fai looked upwards at him, eyes sparkling with false merriment. "Did you miss me?"

Their room _had_ been preternaturally quiet without Fai in it. That may have been what woke him. "Why are you awake?" He didn't bother to point out that they would all have to be up early looking for Sakura's feather in the morning.

Fai closed the book, all teasing expressions dropping from his face. "You should go back to bed, Kuro-sama."

"Don't change the subject, mage."

After a long moment, he answered the question. "It's midwinter."

He remembered their host mentioning that earlier today - or yesterday, given the time - along with something about it being the shortest day of the year.

Words began to tumble from Fai's mouth, but he stared fixedly at the cup in his hands. "Winter brings darkness. Days get shorter until you barely have any time of true daylight. It's like the world is being swallowed and the next time the sun goes down, it won't ever rise again, but that all reverses at mid-winter."

The verbosity surprised him. He would have blamed it on the alcohol, except that Fai didn't get drunk.

"If you can just stay awake and wait for the sun to rise again at midwinter, you'll know that the light is coming back and everything will go back to the way it was."

"You want to go home."

"I can't!" Fai started and bit his lip.

Kurogane wondered how long he's been sitting here thinking those thoughts. Hours, probably. Certainly long enough for the words to be wound so tightly into Fai's mind that he would accidentally blurt them out. He propped his sword in the corner - easily within arm's reach because he was prudent and still not entirely certain they were safe here - and collapsed into the adjacent chair.

"W-what are you doing, Kuroi?" Fai stumbled on the first word, surprise plastered across his face.

"Waiting for the sun." The serious gaze he fixed on Fai carried all of the meaning he didn't put into words.


	2. 2nd Day of Christmas

**2nd Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Instigating fights between other shoppers to steal the last *absolutely fantastic/you are nothing without this* gift_

The crowds were simply unbelievable. Fai had never been somewhere with such a high density of people. Thankfully, he could follow Kurogane, who tended to throw his sword over his shoulder and just barge on through.

A very surprised looking woman dressed in an elf outfit narrowly avoided Kurogane's elbow.

Fai gave her a bright apologetic smile from his position in Kurogane's wake and turned to comment to Syaoran that Kuro-puppy seemed to be having a wonderful time - Kurogane's frustration would get them moving even faster - only to find the place behind him was deserted. His hand latched on to Kurogane's cloak, and he dragged him to a stop.

"Oi! What are you doing?"

A finger pointed at the volume of air that should have contained Syaoran answered that question. Fai rose to his tiptoes, using a hand on Kurogane's shoulder to balance, and peered over the crowds.

He'd managed to find presents for all of his companions, and Kurogane had flat out refused to participate in this world's traditions. Syaoran was the only one who was still looking for something.

Given the beeline he was making for a small stand pushed up against the far wall, Fai guessed that he'd found it. If he squinted, he could just make out a set of hair-clips adorned with small, pink fabric flowers. There was only one left, and he could see at least four other people who were headed that way. His lips pressed into a firm line, and he reached for Kurogane and groped.

The roar of, "Mage!" that burst from Kurogane's lips turned every single head in the area. Luckily for Syaoran, Kurogane was exceedingly good at creating a distraction. Particularly when he didn't know he was doing it.

No one tried to get to the stand once Kurogane pulled his sword out. In fact, Fai noted as he sprinted around the large room, they all seemed to be frantically looking for an exit, even the man who was hastily selling the hair clips to Syaoran.


	3. 3rd Day of Christmas

**3rd Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Hot Springs for the Holidays_

Steam rose from the contact point where the geothermally heated water met the icy air. Fai stuck a curious toe into the water before easing the rest of his body in to follow it. The water was almost scalding hot after the sprint through the snow from the main building, but his body welcomed it gratefully. Feeling that had frozen out of his fingers and toes slowly returned. He slunk down far enough to submerge his shoulders and felt his way carefully across the roughly hewn rock floor to the opposite side of the pool.

With Mokona's earing now in control of their leaps between worlds, time seem to shift even faster than it had during the search for Sakura's feathers. It had been the middle of a blistering hot summer in the last world, and they'd all just gotten comfortable with the heat only to be dropped in a sub-zero frosted world that was locked in the depths of winter.

In this world, it was also Christmas. They'd encountered the idea of Christmas enough times previously that they understood the general principle.

Gifts. Gifts for the people that you love.

Fai titled his head back against the edge of the pool. He truly wanted to get something for Kurogane, who understood the tradition as well as he did, but would undoubtedly splutter and bluster at whatever Fai got him. Fai liked to believe that, deep down, Kurogane would be happy to receive it.

But everything he considered paled in comparison to what Kurogane had given him over the years. Hope, life, and, perhaps most importantly, a reason to _keep on living._ Nothing would ever repay Kurogane, and nothing could ever symbolize the importance of having Kurogane in his life.

A splash at the far end of the pool drew him out of his thoughts. Kurogane's unmistakable outline waded through the steam.

"Mage?"

"Come on in, Kuro-tan! The water's fine."

"I'm _already_ in." Kurogane growled back at him, sloshing through the water towards Fai's location. He emerged slowly out of the fog and would have looked like the villain from some bad horror story if not for the bathtub ring of red skin around his waist from where he'd submerged himself deeper into the hot water before moving.

Fai hid a smile. Only Kurogane - dangerous, deadly Kurogane - could look so completely out of place in a hot spring. This couldn't possibly be his first time in a hot spring - Nihon must have had something like this - but it was hard to tell from his awkward movements.

He stopped several feet from Fai's location, still only waist deep in the water.

"Come on, Kuroi." Fai crooked a finger at him. "There are benches carved into the wall here. You can sit down and relax."

"Here's fine. The water's too hot to go any deeper."

"You're going to get cold." Celes had a multitude of springs like this, and Fai had spent enough time in them to know that the body would adjust to the heat, but that the cold air removed warmth far too fast to be healthy. It was deceptively easy to allow one's core temperature to plummet and that was almost entirely unnoticeable until it was too late. "It's even snowing." He held up a hand to indicate his point, catching a fat snowflake in his cupped palm and watching it melt on contact.

A certain set to Kurogane's jaw combined with the fact that he hadn't budged an inch suggested that he was not going to take Fai's advice. Fai let out a dramatic sigh - he was _very _comfortable - and scooted off the bench.

One disadvantage to natural-floored hot springs was that you were highly likely to bash your foot on an unseen rock. Fai had moved across the pool slowly earlier to avoid that exact occurrence. He did not use that caution this time - Kurogane's torso had been exposed to the frigid air long enough to have chilled him to dangerous levels.

The first two steps went fine, but the third was cut short by a very obnoxious and pointy mound in the floor that effectively halted all forward motion of his leg. His body, however, continued on its initial trajectory.

Kurogane caught his upper arms, taking a step back to brace himself. "Oi!"

"Sorry." Fai gasped, struggling to get his feet properly underneath him. He finally planted both hands on Kurogane's chest for balance. "Sorry."

Only when he'd righted himself did he realize just how close they were standing. Fai rarely passed on opportunities like this - between Syaoran and Mokona, they were seldom alone, and while Fai was certain that both knew what was going on between himself and Kurogane, blatant displays of affection might be more than Syaoran could handle. He wasn't worried about Mokona.

He snaked his arms around Kurogane's neck, pulled his face close, and kissed him softly. The words came completely unbidden to his lips. "Merry Christmas."

"Idiot." Kurogane snorted, but the smile on his face had none of the edge that his words implied.

Fai had long since become completely fluent in Kurogane's tones and implied meanings. That word really meant, 'Merry Christmas to you too, idiot."


	4. 4th Day of Christmas

**4th Day of Christmas**  
><em>Theme: Holidays mean baking, but whipped cream does not go on top of <strong>everything<strong>._

Only years of rigorous training saved him. He hit the floor, sword halfway out of its sheath before he'd even managed to assess the situation. All he knew was that _something_ had been flying towards him.

"Sorry, Kuro-puu!"

"You missed, Fai!"

Kurogane stood slowly, surveying the room for the source of his attack.

A tray of small chocolate cakes - if Fai came anywhere near him with those, he would _not _be held accountable for his actions - sat in the middle of the counter. About half were decorated with whipped cream. The rest of the whipped cream was all over the counter, ceiling, walls and both Fai and Mokona.

An empty carton of eggnog stood next to an equally empty bottle of brandy. They - along with Sakura - had been getting into the holiday spirit when he'd left, and he should have known better than to leave them to their own devices when alcohol was involved.

But questions were not worth it. He simply snapped, "You're cleaning this," and headed for the stairs.

Mokona bounced ahead of him, singing brightly at the top of its lungs. The whipped cream was almost invisible against its white fur.

Right before they reached it, Sakura dove around the corner of the stairs, yelling what seemed to be a war cry, and slapped a handful of whipped cream onto his face.

Apparently his rigorous training was only good enough to save him once.

Sakura jerked back, both hands rising to cover her mouth. She was as thoroughly coated as Fai and Mokona were. "Kurogane-san! I didn't... I'm so sorry!" She babbled. "I was aiming for Mokona!"

"Arara, don't worry, Sakura-chan." Fai came around the counter with a couple of towels in his remarkably clean hands. He handed the towels to them and nudged them gently upstairs.

"But the kitchen..." Sakura protested.

"I'll take care of it."

"But Kurogane-san..."

"I'll take care of that too."

Once they'd disappeared, Kurogane turned a glower in Fai's direction. He decided to ask the question he'd passed over earlier. "Why?"

"Did you see she was smiling?" The rag Fai had picked up was spreading the whipped cream around, but not doing a very good job of picking it up. "It's good to smile."

"Yes." A vapid grin met his statement and Kurogane narrowed his eyes. "_Really _smile." The smile faltered only for a moment, but Kurogane saw it. He opened his mouth to drive the wedge further, hoping to crack Fai's shell completely.

"You've got some whipped cream on your face."

The change of subject was blatantly obvious, and Kurogane would have ignored it and continued in the same vein as before, except the Fai grabbed the front of his armor, yanked him down and _licked_ his cheek.

Distraction, no doubt, given how dangerously close to forbidden territory Kurogane'd managed to push the conversation, but the surprised blush spreading rapidly across Fai's cheeks suggested that he hadn't quite considered the ramifications before acting.

"There's more on the other side."

The rag hit him in the face, and he pulled it away just in time to see Fai scarlet with embarrassment.

Ah, now there was a real emotion.


	5. 5th Day of Christmas

**5th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Keeping Warm_

Kurogane stamped his feet in the snow. They'd been waiting for more than two hours for the village celebration to reach its climax. Sakura's feather was enclosed in a polished box that would only be opened when the town Christmas tree was lit.

So far, the villagers seemed more concerned with consuming a rather large amount of alcohol.

That much Kurogane could agree with. Things simply did not get this cold in Nihon. His cape was thick, but wasn't protecting well from the tendrils of cold working in under the edges and front closure. He was fairly certain that the rivets in his armor had frozen to his skin, and he was not looking forward to trying to pry it off later.

He snagged a mug of alcohol from a passing vendor and almost got it too his lips before it was yanked away. "Oi!" A pile of fabric and fur dropped into his arms.

"Alcohol won't warm you up. This will." Trimmed with fur, Fai's undercoat would easily keep the chill away even without the overcoat. He tucked his hands into the furred sleeves.

Kurogane thought seriously about tossing the coat back at Fai, but an icy wind swirled around his legs, sending a renewed shiver through him. He grumbled and shoved his arms into Fai's coat. It was so massively oversized on Fai that it fit him almost perfectly. That did _not _mean_, _however, that he didn't feel like a complete idiot. On the other hand, he was feeling much warmer.

Fai reached out and smoothed the front of his coat over Kurogane's armor. "Don't you look dashing."

If that _witch_ ever heard anything about this, he would not be held accountable for his actions.


	6. 6th Day of Christmas

**6th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Return to sender_

Coming back to Nihon after so many years should have been a bit of a shock, but nothing and no one had changed, except that _someone_ had decided to introduce Christmas to Tomoyo.

During the time they'd spent searching for Sakura's feathers, the group had been exposed to Christmas. Fai had done some conversions when they'd arrive in Nihon, happily announced that it was, in fact, _that_ time of the year, and proceeded to share every single tradition with Tomoyo.

The holiday spirit had thoroughly, though unsurprisingly, infected Tomoyo.

The halls were royally decked - he wasn't sure that there were any evergreen trees left on the palace grounds - and snippets of carols could be heard echoing from the adjacent room where Syaoran and Mokona were putting the finishing touches on the obligatory Christmas tree. He'd lost track of Fai and Tomoyo in the scramble to bring the tree in, but he did not want to even begin to speculate on what they were getting up to.

Speak of the devil. Tomoyo glided back into the room, having changed into robes that were almost completely red with gold embroidered flowers down the wide skirt. She looked disgustingly festive for someone who had only learned of the holiday hours earlier.

No words could describe the relief that washed over him when Fai reappeared on her heels in a traditional yukata, as opposed to the furisode that Tomoyo had stuffed him into on their last visit. The relief was short lived.

Tomoyo cut across the room towards him, exposing the rest of Fai's outfit.

Besides the obi, he had a wide red ribbon tied into a bow around his upper torso.

He growled, "What?" at Tomoyo.

"He's gift wrapped." Tomoyo covered a knowing smile with a hand. "I couldn't think of a better present for you."

Fai waived, grinning broadly, and trotted over. "Merry Christmas, Kuro-tan!"

He reached for the ribbon, intending to yank it off.

"I wouldn't." Tomoyo warned. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned into his side. "Not here, at least. The only thing holding that yukata together is that ribbon."

Kurogane choked. His hand dropped back to his side instantly.

"Merry Christmas!" Tomoyo called over her shoulder as she hustled off to help Syaoran and Mokona. "Enjoy your _present_, Kurogane."

From the blank expression on Fai's face, he was as clueless about what he was wearing as he had been before.

Somewhere deep under the frustration at Tomoyo barging into his private life, he felt a swell of anticipation. Introducing Fai to the unique features of his outfit was going to be...entertaining.


	7. 7th Day of Christmas

**7th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Come Home Safe_

"Be careful, Kuro-tan!"

Did he have to stand in the doorway and holler down the street? People were starting to stare. A couple more choice warnings made the two women beside him put their heads together and start giggling.

"We wouldn't know what to do if the man of the family was killed!" Fai called after him.

"You would have to step in, Fai!"

Fai lifted Mokona up and nuzzled its face. "I would, but I wouldn't do nearly as good a job."

Two more minutes, and Kurogane was going to punch the annoying man. Honestly, they were just going out to get a tree.


	8. 8th Day of Christmas

**8th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Special Little Snowflake _

"Do you know that they're all unique?" The doctor straightened from his desk and crossed the room to stand next to them.

Almost immediately after their arrival in this world, Sakura had collapsed. Despite their insistence that this happened all the time and that she would be just fine if she rested, they'd all been dragged to the local doctor's office.

Their assurances had worked better on him than they had with the townsfolk, and after settling Sakura comfortably in one of the rooms, they'd trekked back to his office to answer some questions.

He was convinced that he could diagnose and cure her malady, and it was easier to just go along with it.

Fai had been flipping through a photo album sitting on top of the credenza in the far corner of the room while Syaoran did his best to fill the doctor in on Sakura's condition. Each page was packed with elegant photos black and white photos of snowflakes under a high magnification.

"Each one has it's own pattern of points and gaps." He explained, leafing through sheaf after sheaf of photomicrographs. "Each one's a special little snowflake. It will only ever exist once, and once melted, will never exist again."

"Did you hear that, Kuroi?"

"I am _not_ going to call you that."


	9. 9th Day of Christmas

**9th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Creative New Weapons Of Holiday Cheer_

Kurogane didn't really think it was fair for Mokona to withhold his sword just because he wouldn't wear some stupid furred hat. When he'd refused to cave, Mokona had also hidden all the alcohol. That was pushing it, but Kurogane had his pride to consider.

He'd managed to avoid the meatbun for the rest of the night and had escaped without any further ultimatums. No doubt Mokona and Fai would have something cooked up for him in the morning.

Sleep had almost taken him when something heavy settled on his stomach. Sensing no malignant intentions beyond the normal ambient ones that usually surrounded Fai when he'd been drinking, Kurogane refused to open his eyes in the faint hope that Fai would just _go away_.

He was tired and sore from sparring with Syaoran earlier in the day, and he just wanted to sleep.

After several minutes where nothing happened, Fai leaned over him and proceeded to scratch at his nose. "Kuro-taaaan."

"Go. Away."

"Arara, Kuroi. You're no fun."

Even with his eyes closed, Kurogane could see the pout on Fai's face. "I'm not warning you again, mage. Go away or I will..."

"You'll what?"

That did it. Kurogane could put up with the late night wake-up call. He could handle Fai invading his personal space like this - in fact, he was rather enjoying _that_ bit, but the underlying tone of that statement suggested that Fai seriously doubted his ability to make good on that threat.

His attempt to throw Fai off him met with little success, and he growled out a curse of frustration. He knew that Fai was not even remotely close to that heavy.

A quick survey revealed Mokona parked squarely on his chest in front of Fai. Apparently one of Mokona's 100 secret techniques was immense weight.

Kurogane dropped his head back to the pillows with a groan. With his torso pinned to the bed, there was little he could do to dislodge Fai.

10 minutes of Fai babbling, and it was taking all of his years of meditation to resist the very un-ninja method of taking the easy way out. After 15 minutes, he decided that maintaining his sanity trumped maintaining his pride. "Fine."

Fai threw his arms over his head. "He agrees!"

"Now get off of me." _Before I do something stupid, _he added mentally because Fai's continued presence straddling his hips was beginning to take its toll. "And let me sleep."

Fai slid off him only to stretch out alongside him, one arm thrown across his chest, and smiled at the dark look Kurogane pinned him with. "What?"

He could have shoved Fai off the bed, but his side had been a little chilly. Besides, as long as Fai was quiet, he didn't _really_ mind his presence.


	10. 10th Day of Christmas

**10th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Thanks, I think..._

A cold wind blew him through the door. Kurogane stomped the worst of the crusty snow off his feet, juggling the stack of wood into one arm so that he could see his feet in order to pry his shoes off. The house was remarkably silent - he'd left close to an hour ago to gather firewood. The temperatures were starting to plummet and the house would be icy by morning if they didn't keep the fire stoked.

All of the lights were off, and the living room was lit by only by the flickering light of the fire. Kurogane dumped the wood on the floor, pausing when a small plate caught his eye.

A piece of chocolate sat in the dead center of the plate with a little slip of paper with his name written on it. No amount of glaring at the chocolate changed its appearance. Fai should have known better by now than to make him sweets, but all of his growling and threats had done little to dissuade Fai from stuffing chocolate into Kurogane's mouth at every opportunity.

Strange though, the sweet smell that normally accompanied Fai's confectionary creations was absent. Even when he leaned right up close to it, he could only make out the slightest whiff of bitter chocolate with something else underneath it that he felt he should recognize.

The mage was upstairs and sound asleep if the complete lack of sound was any indication, and Kurogane was hungry and cold. He snagged the chocolate and took a tentative bite on the corner.

Mostly tasted like chocolate, but underneath was the same strange hint of something else that he'd smelt. He stretched his hand out in front of him, peering closely at it and looking for any alterations.

Drugs would not have surprised him.

"Tea." Fai was leaning on the back of the couch, a soft smile playing around his lips. "Its just tea and dark chocolate, Kuro-tan. I know you don't like sweets."

He didn't usually, but this was...passable. Kurogane stuffed the rest into his mouth - he was hungry, damn it - and pushed past Fai towards the stairs. He didn't have to turn around to feel accomplished smile Fai was aiming in his direction.


	11. 11th Day of Christmas

**11th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Anywhere but here_

Snow reminded him of Celes. Snow would always remind him of Celes, no matter how far or how long he ran. Fai tilted his head back, fat flakes landing on his cheekbones and melting almost instantly on contact. The sight _should_ have been beautiful, what with the snow, the lights, and the bustling people all practically exuding cheer, but he couldn't see it.

In his eyes, the lights were blades of magic, and the red coats and ribbons and skirts that filled the street were... He shook his head, trying to clear the images of Ashura-ou's castle in Celes. Why did everyone insist on decorating with red for Christmas? Red on snow dredged up too many painful memories.

A heavy hand landed on the back of his head and shoved his hood forward until it blocked almost his entire view, leaving only a small strip of snow-covered sidewalk and passing feet.

"If it bothers you that much, don't look." Kurogane said gruffly from behind his shoulder. "It's Christmas. It's time to be happy for what we have."

Fai bit his lip, only seconds away from blurting out that he _didn't_ have anything left.

Even without his retort, Kurogane's hand lingered on his head for a few moments longer than was absolutely necessary.


	12. 12th Day of Christmas

**12th Day of Christmas  
><strong>_Theme: Our Traditions_

Over the months and years since their little ragtag group had begun traveling, they'd settled into a strange, yet comfortable, routine. Even though each world threw a new wrench in the gears, they adjusted and adapted, knowing what they could expect from each other.

Every time Christmas rolled around - which was sometimes only once in several years and other times twice in one week - Kurogane and Fai could be trusted to behave fairly predictably.

Fai would buy presents even though he knew that Kurogane would not - something useful for Syaoran, edible for Mokona, and ridiculous or, more recently, completely inappropriate for Kurogane. No matter how much Kurogane would bluster, growl and threaten, Fai would smile knowingly and still get him something equally as ludicrous the next time around.

Only occasionally would he press a second wrapped package into Kurogane's hand containing something small - oil and whetstone, water sealant for his cloak, or replacement rivets for his armor

This did not happen very often, however. Shaking up a routine on a regular basis would simply define a new routine, and Fai knew that it was the relative scarcity of these gestures that brought on the look of pleased shock on Kurogane's face that he had come to love so much.

OOOOOOOOO

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I apologize profusely for subjecting people to this mess. I definitely do not have these two down well enough to do something like this in a short period of time. *shot*


End file.
